The British are famous for their love of gardens and the Queen’s Gallery has picked up on this theme to bring us their latest exhibition Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden. In these sumptuous rooms you are taken through 600 years of garden history through paintings, tapestries, books and even chandeliers. Continue reading
All that glitters is definitely gold at the new exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, London. One stunning piece which keeps drawing you back is the golden head of a tiger which stares out at you with its rock crystal eyes Tipu Sultan, an Indian rule, said that it was ‘better to live a single day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep’ and used the tiger as a symbol of his power, decorating his throne with gold heads and as a motif on his guards’ uniforms. This magnificent beast dates from the late 18th century and although the throne that he was part of was broken up, his head survived and was given to William lV so now part of the Queen’s Collection in Windsor.
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The Imperial War Museum has been getting ready for the centenary of the First World War (1WW) and has been closed all year but this great museum reopened on Saturday with its new 1WW Galleries at the heart of its £40 million pounds revamp.
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London’s Design Museum doesn’t often come up on the list of our most visited museums but it’s well worth a look. Located just next to Tower Bridge, it was founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran to encourage everyone to appreciate the value of design and looks at all types of design: product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural. Continue reading
George is a popular royal name and we have a potential future King George, baby Prince George, making a big impact on the world. Britain has had 6 King Georges so far and one day he will most likely be number 7! This year London is celebrating all things George as it’s 450 years since George 1st ascended to the British throne in 1714 and started off the Georgian era. Many of the major museums in London are holding exhibitions which are marking this event and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about how the first King George came to the throne and how he and his descendants lived. Continue reading
There are many reasons to visit Greenwich – the Cutty Sark, the world’s meridian, the painted hall, the Queen’s House and the permanent collections at the National Maritime Museum are a few of them. Now there are 2 more great reasons as the National Maritime Museum has opened its Nelson Galleries as well as a wonderful exhibition about Turner, one of my favourite painters. I was luckily enough to be shown around by the Curators for both exhibitions which is a privilege so if you ever see one advertised, do book yourself onto it for the inside track you get, bringing the exhibition to life. Continue reading
There is a gallery at Buckingham Palace called, unsurprisingly, the Queen’s Gallery, which I’ve visited several times and have seen some excellent exhibitions including Scott and Shackleton in 2011. This year they have excelled themselves by putting on 2 shows at the same time and I was lucky enough to be invited to the preview. Continue reading
London has some of the most famous sights in the world from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge to Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral and St Paul’s Cathedral. However, there are hundreds of less well known, hidden treasures in London so this blog starts an occasional series which will bring these gems to you. Continue reading
There are always great exhibitions worth visiting in London, often at smaller, less well known museums. However, sometimes blockbuster shows hit town at the same time and this is one of those times. Londoners and visitors are frantically trying to get their hands on much sought after tickets for this spring’s top shows. I’ve been away from London for 2 months on my volunteering trip to Africa (read more here) so I was really keen to catch up. Continue reading
This is another entry in the occasional single item blogs from LondonLivingSue aboutLondon’s major sights. This week we are visiting the Imperial War Museum but don’t be put off by the title as I have been for a while as it sounds like it’ll just be for war buffs. When you get there you found it’s a great place and really reaches out in its exhibits to appeal to a very broad range of visitors. Arriving at the museum you cannot miss the impressive building and its immediately military approach as the 2 huge guns in the photo face you! As you enter you come into an enormous hall full of planes, guns, buses, tanks and a good cafe! 
They have some amazing items from history which blow you away (perhaps not the best choice of phrase!) There is the motorbike which Lawrence of Arabia was driving when he had his fatal accident, which looks brand new! There is a genuine Enigma machine which was so vital in the work at Bletchley Park decoding German messages. The Germans thought the enigma codes were unbreakable so used them for important secret mesages and being able to read them is believed to have shortened the Second World War considerably.
There are a couple of very sobering sections: one being the Holocaust Exhibition and the other the Crimes Against Humanity. The Holocaust Exhibition traces the rise of Nazism and the growing anti-semitism through to its horrific conculsion in the death camps, using a range of photos, testimony, maps and individual stories. The Crimes Against Humanity shows us some more horrors with a series of films and a timeline of endless crimes. Terrifying, sad and very important stuff. This photo shows one of the propoganda moves that were part of the Nazi war machine.
I’m sure I’ve missed loads out so why not go for yourself and make sure you allow plenty of time…